The efficacy of group treatment in sexually abused girls

The efficacy of the outpatient, once a week group treatment of sexually abused girls was examined using a pre-post, matched control/treatment design. The 30 girls were 9-12 years old, within 1 year of trauma, and were screened for psychosis. The Quay Revised Behavioral Problem Checklist (RBPC) and the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) were used as dependent measures, and given 6 months apart. Depending on the scale, and excepting the RBPC's Psychotic Behavior Scale, 60-100% of the girls had abnormal scores pretreatment, with no significant differences between the two groups. Significant (p < .001) treatment effects were found. After treatment, 0-33% of the treated girls had abnormal scores, while 60-100% of the control group continued to have abnormal scores. Assuming generalization is possible, it appears that this and similar treatment programs are effective in reducing the girls' perceived problematical anxiety and misbehavior.